Rockin' on a Roller Coaster

May 2, 2017

By Anonymous, Metairie, LA

Image Credit: Aaron S., Shelby, NC

When I was ten, my family and I went to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Universal is known for their crazy, yet fun roller coasters. The “Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit” is one of the most famous rides there. This roller coaster puts people in a ninety degree angle going up 167 feet. The last time I went to Universal, I was not able to ride the Rockit because I was too short. Now, I am tall enough to ride, and my goal was to go on the famous Rockit. My sister, cousin, and my dad all walked up to the ride. When I looked up, the ride is towering over me. The Rockit is 167 feet tall with red semi circles over the rider’s head, and there is a logo of a music play sign in the median of the ride. After the tall death drop, there are a bunch of red loops. After examining the ride, my sister looks at me and says, “You’re not scared, right?” and I said, “What? No, not at all.” but on the inside, I was anxious and uneasy. We step into the line, which was a thirty minute wait, and the line went in a zigzag formation, and as I am waiting and getting closer I get even more eager. Thirty minutes later, we finally get to the top and I am beyond scared but also excited. The workers in the red, fiery shirts help us get on, because there was a moving walkway dragging us one side when we had to get to our seats on the other side. Once my dad and I were finally seated in the two pair ride, I reach to my right to pull the belt, or restraint, over me. In the middle of the belt, was a little MP3 type player, and since the roller coaster was called the “Rockit”, we could listen to a song while we were riding the ride. I look at all of my options from country to pop and saw the song “Stronger” by Kanye West. I quickly chose that song and braced myself for what was yet to come. Ahead of me was the ride, and we went straight up until I couldn’t see the tracks anymore. The worker made sure we were all secure and he gave the guy who works the ride a thumbs up. I hear smoke go off indicating that the ride got off the brakes, and we are suddenly moving. I instantly see the blinding sun, so I decide to just close my eyes. While we are going all the way up, I start praying that I do not die or fall out of my seat. When my dad sees what I am doing, he starts laughing at me. I can see the red semicircles going over my head one by one, and all of a sudden we get to the very top. At that moment, I scream while Kanye West sings into my ears. My stomach drops and we are flipped upside down and are flying through the ride. During the middle of the ride, I finally felt the excitement kick in, and I started singing along with Kanye. We went through a building, and the ride even went ground level. I could see my hair going everywhere and hitting my face. Right when I thought the ride just started, the cart we were in came to a stop. I was so sad when the ride ended because I wanted to ride the ride again. Then suddenly the worker says, “If you want to remember this forever, come and buy your video and watch your reaction from the ride!” My dad looked at me and laughed and ran to go see the video. We go to the machine and look through the videos until we recognize our faces. In the beginning of the video, my eyes are closed and I could see my mouth moving. Next to me, my dad was smiling and laughing at me. When we made the big drop, my face was wide and screaming while my hair was flopping through the wind. After seeing the video we walk towards the exit and I turned to my dad and said, “Let’s go again!”

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